Valentino Rossi did not get off on the right foot for the GP of Austria. After the Brno tests, he had built a little castle of certainty for himself which, however, crumbled on the Red Bull Ring. Not much went right today and the 13th final time is demonstration of this.

For the third consecutive time Valentino will start ahead of his team-mate Vinales, so since using the new frame. In the first part of the season, Rossi was struggling against Vinales in terms of the flying lap, but now the situation seems to be reversed.

Looking at the time sheets, Valentino Rossi’s first day at Brno, at least on the dry track, seems to have been a disaster. His name is in 14th place, a full second behind the leader. However, sometimes appearances are misleading. At least that’s what the Doctor says.

The Brno GP is a special one for Valentino, where he scored his first win 21 years ago. A memory surely imprinted on the Doctor's mind, who might be getting older but only in terms of his ID card. Like a chameleon, Rossi has been able to adapt as times have changed.

Can you be happy with a 5th place finish? Yes, if you started out fearing the worst and you are heading into the holiday break with a gap of only 10 points behind the championship leader who, in the meantime, is now Marquez.

Not a day goes by without the riders stating how unpredictable the MotoGP is this year and “today we had another surprise, the sensations with the tyres and bike continuously change” reflects Valentino, 9th in a wet qualifying.

“I've managed to go quite slowly in both the wet and the dry”, Valentino tries to see the ironic side but he doesn't much feel like laughing. In the morning he was 16th, the afternoon in the rain 15th, definitely not what he expected.